Student poll: “UK safest place to study”

International students have ranked the UK as the safest place to study because of its multicultural society, the perception that people don’t carry guns and its good medical care, according to new data from the British Council’s Student Insights survey.

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About Sara CusterSara is an international education journalist from Oklahoma. She completed her BA in Chicago, taught English in Barcelona and landed in London to be an international student herself completing a master's in international journalism.

Safety has grown as a concern to students surpassing cost of tuition and employment opportunities

The online poll, carried out this summer, received 863 respondents from over 80 countries who were asked to list which countries they considered least and most safe, and why.

Second safest country after the UK was Canada, followed by the US, Germany and New Zealand. Students chose Germany, New Zealand and Canada for their low crime rates, while students saw the US as safe because it had a shared language and was multicultural.

Explaining the motivation behind the study, Elizabeth Shepherd, research director for the Council’s Education Intelligence, said: “The treatment of safety as a priority by universities and surrounding communities is imperative for the reputation of a study destination.”

The US appears in both the top five safest and least safest places to live

Due to a perceived availability of guns, the US also appears in the top five least safest places to live along with Israel, Brazil, India and South Africa.

South Africa was considered the least safe country because it is seen to have a high volume of street crime, as were Brazil and India. Students ranked Israel unsafe due to the threat of terrorist attacks.

The Student Insight survey, which has had 160,000 respondents since inception, shows personal safety has grown as a concern to students in recent years, surpassing cost of tuition, opportunities for employment while studying and opportunities to learn a new language.

“Personal safety for any young individual and his or her family is of overriding importance, and this issue is heightened by the transient and often inexperienced nature of these young individuals entering new communities,” said Shepherd.

“Student safety requires institutions and national organizations to be proactive rather than reactive to personal safety issues.”

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